Moving to Penn State Hershey Medical College

It’s a wonderful feeling to find your home. That’s what I feel now that I’ve arrive back in the state of my birth, back in a wonderful academic medical setting, and back doing what I love.

I was asked to come to Penn State Hershey Medical Center under very sad circumstances. The chair of the Department of Psychiatry, Dr. James Hegarty, needed to take a medical leave, and very soon after my arrival died from a brain tumor, despite his valiant battle. I am profoundly moved to take over his duties as Interim Chair.

The Penn State Department of Psychiatry is a joy: Wonderful physicians, excellent research, a very promising partnership with a not-for-profit psychiatric system. For me, the most rewarding aspect is using all the skills I have acquired over my lifetime—as a clinician, as an administrator, and as a scientist.

I love writing Biological Therapies in Psychiatry, and I feel truly blessed to be able to continue that calling while adding the adventure and fulfillment of my “day job” at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.